Flu season is underway, not too late for vaccine

Bayhealth Medical Center has joined U.S. healthcare systems that make the annual flu shot mandatory for all employees.

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By Staff Reports

Hockessin Community News

By Staff Reports

Posted Dec. 20, 2012 at 11:29 AM
Updated Dec 20, 2012 at 11:47 AM

By Staff Reports

Posted Dec. 20, 2012 at 11:29 AM
Updated Dec 20, 2012 at 11:47 AM

Dover, Del.

Bayhealth Medical Center has joined U.S. healthcare systems that make the annual flu shot mandatory for all employees.

Staff who do not receive the shot are required to wear masks when in patient areas. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that 63 percent of healthcare personnel nationwide have been vaccinated this year.

According to the CDC, more than 100 cases of the flu have been confirmed in Delaware in 2012. Forty-five percent of the state's cases are in Kent County, with 31 percent in New Castle County, and 24 percent in Sussex County. More than half of those cases have been confirmed in the last two weeks, indicating that flu season is picking up.